Khuen people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Khuen
Total population
9,500 (est.)
Regions with significant populations
Laos, China
Religions
Traditional religion, Theravada Buddhism

The Khuen people are an aboriginal ethnic group of Laos.

1 Name Variation
2 Language
3 Geographic Distribution
4 Customs
5 Religeon
6 References

[edit] Name Variation

The Khuen have appeared in research under several different English spellings including Khuen, Kuan, Kuanhua, Kween, Khween, and Khouen.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Language

The Khuen speak a language also called Khuen, which is a Khmuic language.^[1]^{[citation needed]} The Khmuic languages are Austro-Asiatic.^[1] There is some debate as to whether the Khmuic languages are of the Mon-Khmer branch, but the majority opinion is that they are not.

[edit] Geographic Distribution

Population in Laos: 8000 in Luang Namtha Province^[1]
Population in China: 1500, centered around Jinghong in Southern China^{[citation needed]}
Population in United States: Unknonwn

[edit] Customs

As a fellow member of the larger Khmuic ethnic group, many aspects of Khuen culture are similar to the Khmu.^{[citation needed]} Family names are usually the names of sacred animals or plants. It is taboo for a Khuen person to touch the animal or plant that bears his or her family name.^{[citation needed]}